THIS SEASON’S PREMIER League has lacked the spark and tension of last season, but there is still plenty to play for on the final day.
Hull City and Newcastle United will have one last chance to survive in the division while there is still a battle for fifth place to be played out.
Can Steve Bruce finally get one over Manchester United?
Three losses on the bounce leaves Hull teetering perilously close to relegation and the fact that Steve Bruce has not beaten the club he served so well as a player in his 14-year managerial career leaves a murky outlook. He has four draws to show from his 21 games against the Red Devils as a manager.
United, however, will not be too pumped up for this game. Securing a third-place spot is beyond them at this stage and with a Champions League slot tied up, Van Gaal may thrust some youngsters into the starting XI. Their form has been indifferent ever since the dismantling of Manchester City six weeks ago, so that should offer some encouragement for the Tigers.
Relations between the club’s hierarchy and the fans has been tentative to say the least this season, but Sunday presents a day where the supporters will need to passionately cheer on their team to avoid relegation. A slightly blunt attack that will be missing both Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young, combined with the fact that Hull’s defensive record is not that bad for a relegation candidate, means they may need to just score one goal to leapfrog Newcastle.
If Hull do go down, there can be little sympathy afforded to Bruce. He has spent £65million since the beginning of last season, which is a mouth-watering sum for a club of Hull’s size.
Can Newcastle make it one win in 11 attempts?
“We want to get as high as possible in the table, and improve.” That was the sentiment of John Carver when he took over in February. They sat in 11th place after 26 games, 14 points above a Leicester side who have jumped three places above them in the intervening time.
Should Hull pull off a victory over a Manchester United side with nothing to play for, only a win would do for Newcastle. That would represent the shambolic achievement of earning three times as many points in one game as they have in their previous 10.
They face a West Ham side chasing a top-half finish in what is likely to be a hostile St James’ Park on Sunday. They couldn’t be facing a much more perfect opponent in such a pivotal game. The fanciful talk of finishing in the European places died out for the Hammers long ago. Victories over Burnley and Sunderland represent their only wins in the last 16 games, so it’s obvious that the club have had their minds on the summer break for some time now.
It must be said that Sam Allardyce would surely love to get one over his former club, and he will also be putting himself in the shop window, as he is expected to be let go by West Ham in the summer.
Will this be Raheem Sterling’s last Liverpool game?
Last weekend, the Anfield faithful gave Steven Gerrard an emotional farewell. The same sentiments will not be issued towards Sterling should Sunday’s encounter be his final game. It’s a hugely complicated issue for both the player and the club, and one that has became all too messy.
It is times like these that muscle strains or mysterious injuries show up, as players try to keep away from the spotlight. Rodgers said in his press conference this morning that the 20-year-old is fit and available for selection, however.
Liverpool have acted with dignity, not being held to ransom over the player’s demands. Even Brendan Rodgers has spoken quite well about the whole situation, refusing to let details about private conversations between the pair be known to the media. It is obvious that the main source of tension is Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, who is understood to be pushing for either an unrealistic contract, or a bumper move away from Anfield.
On Thursday, the club reportedly cancelled talks between the two parties, which shows just what they think of Sterling’s agent’s latest alleged comments. This is going to be a drawn out saga over the summer, with the club seemingly not budging on their stance, and Sterling being given questionable advice from Ward.
The battle for fifth
Two points separate Liverpool, Spurs and Southampton in the race for fifth place and surely all sides should be fighting tooth and nail for the spot. The Europa League is not something that has been highly embraced by Spurs or Liverpool in the past few seasons — it seems a hindrance more so than anything to both clubs.
However, finishing top of their mini-league of three would guarantee automatic qualification for next season’s competition, whereas sixth place would mean a third-round qualifier on 30 July, should Aston Villa win the FA Cup. If Arsenal win the cup final, it means that both fifth and sixth place qualify automatically, and seventh place would start their season in July.
All three face tricky opponents away from home in their final game, with Liverpool travelling to Stoke, Spurs visiting Everton and the Saints coming up against Manchester City at the Etihad. It’s anyone’s guess who will prevail.
Final auditions for Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao?
Such is the lack of patience in football these days, if you haven’t proven yourself in your first year in a new country, you’re likely to be facing the chop.
Falcao will almost certainly leave in the summer. He was an expensive gamble that was worth a punt at the time but it hasn’t paid off. When you’re offered one of the most lethal strikers in world football on a season-long loan, it is invariably too inviting to turn down, but his time at Old Trafford has surely come to an end.
The fans have got behind him, but cheering every time he plays a pass that a Sunday league footballer would pull off with ease to give him confidence shows how devoid of quality his performances have been this season. For the money that the Colombian international is on, fans should be celebrating hat-tricks and scarcely-believable goals, not simple hold-up play and 10-yard passes. The beleaguered striker may not even get the chance to lead the line this weekend, with Robin Van Persie fit again.
Di Maria is in a different situation. He may have the excuse of fatigue on his side, after such a long season with Real Madrid last year, and a World Cup campaign following that. The winger was brilliant upon arrival at United, but looks a shadow of his former exhilarating self since November.
The 27-year-old Argentine international may be afforded more time because he obviously has a confidence issue, but should a club come in for an offer of £50million-plus, United must surely bite the bullet and sell.
This weekend’s Premier League fixtures (all 3pm kick-offs)
Stoke City v Liverpool
Newcastle United v West Ham United
Manchester City vs Southampton
Leicester City v QPR
Hull City v Manchester United
Everton v Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea v Sunderland
Aston Villa v Burnley
Arsenal v West Brom
Crystal Palace v Swansea
– First published 12.09, 22 May